QUICK FIX: 802.11ac router recommendation (2015)

I took my sweet time waiting for three stream ac cards to hit the market hoping to update router recommendations thread only then.
Unfortunately it's not looking very good at this time and I thought it would be better to give you guys two recommendations rather than leave you hanging.

It's not a full blown thread like Wireless router buyer’s guide 2012/2013 is but I'm hoping to get rid of 802.11n recommendations entirely (with possible exception of the cheapest routers) and move to 802.11ac which is not really possible at this time yet.

So in the meantime:

Q: I have no understanding of the concept of money- what router do I buy?
A: Buy Netgear R7000 and be done with it.



No, it's not an ASUS RT-AC68U, although it sort of is. Both use (almost) the same CPU/SoC although the one in Netgear is clocked higher. Both have the same amount of RAM, the same radio for 2.4GHz and the same for 5GHz. The only differences (apart from the faster SoC in Netgear) are different amps and firmware quality- something ASUS is not particularly good at.
Unfortunately this means significantly slower USB transfers on ASUS (at least untill firmware fix arrives) and slightly lower throughput. Wireless performance is pretty close with ASUS edging it in terms of upload but only very close to the router. You can expect NTFS read-write from a HDD connected via USB 3 to be between 40 and 50MB/s which is pretty great for a cheap NAS let alone a router.

Overall Netgear has better hardware and better firmware which makes it a winner.

Q: Are you nuts!? I don't want to spend $200 on a router- what do I buy?
A: TP-LINK Archer C7 v2. It's "only" $99...



So It's not exactly what you call cheap but recommendation by definition has to refer you to something good. There are probably cheaper ac routers out there but there are no cheaper routers worth buying.
TP-Link's Archer C7 is built around Qualcom's second generation ac SoC supplemented bu 128MB RAM. It uses good amps on 5GHz radio (which shows in its range) and "some" amps on 2.4GHz one (which also shows).
Also unlike Netgear R7000 it doesn't offer USB 3 ports but USB 2 ones. What you get for your money is very good 5GHz performance (range is very good, and so is throughput) and undistinguished 2.4GHz performance (while throughput is good, range is less than impressive).

Lack of USB 3 is not a big deal- it's not the limiting factor. The CPU of a router is a bit weak to deal with NTFS partitions so don't expect TP-Link to exceed 12MB/s. While it may sound poor in comparison with Netgear you have to realize that it's the Netgear that is outstanding, not the TP-Link that is poor. Similar results of 10-12MB/s are to be expected from routers like ASUS RT-AC66U, Netgear R6300 and many others.

Overall (USB performance aside) TP-Link's throughput is very close to Netgear's one but the price-tag isn't.

NOTE This router doesn't work properly with Broadcom radio chips on 5GHz range in version 1. Apple devices tend to be based exclusively on Broadcom chips. Beta firmwares are in the works (three released in 2014 alone) but until fixed DO NOT BUY if you own Apple notebooks. Do avoid v1 id you can.

Q: How is $100 cheap, are you kidding me?
A: Fine, Fine. How about TP-Link Archer C20i or Archer C2 for less than $50?

Archer C20i (left photo) This is hands down the most interesting chap router I've seen in years. It costs between $37-$50 depending on where you live. For that kind of money you shouldn't expect much but what you get is 802.11ac dual band router with USB port.
It's based on MediaTek SoC running at either 580 or 600MHz paired with 64MB RAM. MediaTek also provided a 2.4GHz radio (two spatial streams for 300mbps connection) and a single stream 802.11ac radio (433mbps connection). Both radios work simultaneously.
USB port can be sued for sharing media or more interestingly to connect a network printer.
While Ethernet ports are only 100mbps it's not a deal breaker for most people as it's clearly not a device for heavy NAS users anyway.

Archer C2 (right photo) is identical to Archer C20i except for its looks and the fact that it does have a gigabit switch instead of 100mbps one.

In Europe you can buy Archer C20i for roughly $37 and Archer C2 for $50 whereas in the US Archer C2 is slightly cheaper (in spite of its better hardware) so your purchase decision might depend on where you live.

Thanks @Carcozep for pointing out Archer C2's US price.


...and a card to match
Your choice of Wi-Fi card to pair with either of those is pretty much limited to Intel 7260/7265 (internal) or Killer 1525.
Mind you Intel is yet to iron out the bumps on 7260's driver so it might be a bumpy ride while Killer 1525 is only available in M.2 format and has its own issues with Bluetooth (supposedly solved by a firmware update).

 

Are there any USB wireless cards (external) that you recommend?

 

There's an interesting test from smallnetbuilder if you are after USB Wi-Fi card.
Personally I'd go with an Edimax EW-7822UAC. It's almost half the price of an ASUS USB-AC56 yet is based on the same chipset and has very similar performance.

Not to mention I'm a bit surprised to see realtek-based devices outperform Broadcom ones.

 

Thanks for the answer. I have added smallnetbuilder to my bookmarks.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. A further question. Do you have a recommendation for an additional access point(s) to use with the Nighthawk?

(I currently have the ActionTec FiOS router plus 3 cisco WAP4410Ns). I want to upgrade the whole mess but the configuration of my house (walls are stucco (concrete essentially) with wire lath inside and out and built into the side of a hill with non-contiguous rooms) makes it likely that even with better coverage from the Netgear I'll still need an Access Point or two in the nether reaches.

 

To be perfectly honest - no. I have no real recommendations. I could come up with some APs right now but I don't want to stand by a recommendation that wasn't thought through and I wasn't into 802.11ac APs yet.

 

Has anyone tried this? I'm curious to see what their hardware is.

Home | Securifi | World's 1st Touch screen Wireless Router

 

Thanks for the info here! Curious, anything on the horizon or is now a decent time to buy? I'm looking to upgrade to AC for my home network. Thanks!

EDIT: Following up, I ended up picking up the Netgear R7000 from New Egg while they were offering the Motorola SB6141 combo... totally happy with the router, working great on all bands. Thanks downloads.

 

I picked up a nighthawk on sale based on this rec (replacing a DIR-615), and it's awesome. Also huge.

Upgrading things around the house, I've added an intel 7260AC in my new eurocom m4/clevo w230ss - great as long as I'm connected to 5Ghz. Upgrading to the latest drivers from station drivers have it holding an 866.7 Mbps connection. Transfers between my Samsung S4, netgear nighthawk, usb3 hard drive hooked up to the nighthawk and laptop are all ridiculous fast compared to what I was experiencing before. I'm also a fan of the simple router software and netgear app - covers enough basic functionality that I probably won't bother with open source.

The router is dealing well with a mixed array of devices on wireless N and AC. Surprisingly, though, I'm finding that the signal at both 2.4 and 5Ghz is about the same strength as my dir-615. I was expecting it to reach a bit further.

Only downside (size is inconvenient, but not really game breaking) is the discovery that I can't easily install the 7260 AC cards I bought in a couple of lenovo laptops. It might be a year or two before remaining devices (laptops, iphone, tablets, cams, etc.) are upgraded/grow into the new AC environment.

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Can someone explain what the AC1900 vs AC1750 vs AC1600 vs AC1200 means? I'll only be using laptops with Intel 7260 ac, one with a Intel 6205, one with Killer 1202, and a Dell Venue 8 Pro that has some Atheros wifi card that has wireless n.

 

AC1900 = 1300 Mbps on 5 GHz (need 3x3 WiFi cards to get full speeds such as MacBook Pro Retina) + 600 Mbps speeds on 2.4 GHz (3x3 streams with TurboQAM = 256QAM on 2.4 GHz instead of 5 GHz only). You need a Broadcom based WiFi adapter to take advantage of it.

AC1750 = 1300 Mbps on 5 GHz + 450 Mbps speeds on 2.4 GHz (no TurboQAM so only 64QAM on 2.4 GHz instead of 256QAM).

AC1600 = 1300 Mbps on 5 GHz + 300 Mbps on 2.4 GHz

AC1200 = 866.7 Mbps on 5 GHz (2x2 WiFi cards such as 7260AC) + 300 Mbps on 2.4 GHz

In short, no matter what AC router speed class you have, you can only get 866.7 Mbps out of it unless you have a Retina MacBook Pro that supports 3x3 streams and can get 1.3 Gbps.

The reason people pay for AC1900 instead of AC1200 or AC1750 is due to full unlocked dual core CPU, RAM and routing throughput.

While all AC routers can only give 866.7 Mbps to your 7260AC, AC1900 routers can reliably give the maximum throughput at heavy loads such as multiple streaming, gaming, LAN transfer, VoIP etc due to their Dual core CPU and lots of RAM while some lower class AC routers shows performance issues during heavy load.

 

Out of curiosity, does the AC1750's 450Mbps 2.4Ghz use 3x3 (requiring 3 antennas?)? Or is the QAM stuff software based bandwidth increasing?

 

As pointed out above there's no TurboQAM used on 450mbps connection.

 

Anyone know anything about Edimax BR-6478AC? Newegg has the thing with $15 off a $50 purchase on their mobile app though google wallet payment. I don't exactly need a new router, but if its cheap enough... Using a travel router right now and its range/local speed isn't too great (150Mbps I think)
Edimax BR-6478AC Dual-Band AC1200 Router / Extender / AP 3-in-1 Smart Device, Provides Simultaneous 2.4GHz & 5GHz with Gigabit Ports for Faster Connectivity, Features iQ-Setup for Easy Installation via Smartphone/Tablet - Newegg.com

 

It's not a particularly good router but it has a good price and comes from a reputable company so it might be interesting.
Hardware-wise it has some shortcomings - 64MB RAM, is based on a Raltek SoC and in 802.11ac mode it achieves transfers of 150-200mbps close to the router.
That is significantly less than most good ac routers achieve and while admittedly those routers are three stream routers while this one is a two stream all tests were conducted with two stream cards so either way theoretical connection speed was 866 and practical connection speed should be close too.

Anyway - for the money it might be OK.

 

I guess I was trying to figure out if I should future proof a little. Otherwise I had my eye on the TP-LINK TL-WDR3500, since I only have one AC wireless card at the moment.

 

How does this compare to your 2 recommendations?

ASUS RT-AC68R Dual-Band Wireless Gigabit Router (Refurbished) $126 w/ Visa Checkout + Free Shipping - Newegg Deals, Coupons and Promos
Newegg.com has ASUS RT-AC68R Dual-Band Wireless Gigabit Router (Refurbished) for $139.99 - 10% off with promo code VCO with Visa Checkout = $125.99

 

RT-AC68R is exactly the same as RT-AC68U which means not as good as Netgear R7000 (you'll notice I refer to RT-AC68U in a note about R7000).
The price is good though.

 

For that money I'll take it and am willing to trade off a tiny bit of performance compared to R7000 that costs 170 dollars

 

RT-AC87U or WRT1900AC or R8000?

What is the best AC router?

 

IMO,the Netgear R7000 is more than ample for what most of us can take advantage of.

Like everything else do your homework before you buy and spend the big bucks on the newest models.

A good place to start is reading the reviews on smallnetbuilder.
NETGEAR R8000 Nighthawk X6 First Look - SmallNetBuilder
NETGEAR R8000 Nighthawk X6 Review: Part 2 - SmallNetBuilder
ASUS RT-AC87U Dual-band Wireless-AC2400 Gigabit Router First Look - SmallNetBuilder
ASUS RT-AC87U Review: Part 2 - SmallNetBuilder

Also from smallnetbuilder:
Don't use the speed reported by Windows in the Wireless Network Properties window as the measure of how fast the wireless link is running.It shows is whatever the wireless adapter's driver tells it to show, which is usually the link rate currently being used.

To get a more accurate measure of the speed of your wireless connection, you need to use a method that actually measures the speed that your connection is delivering. These include:

Timing a drag-and-drop filecopy and calculating speed (file size / transfer time). LAN Speed Test does essentially the same thing, but automatically for Windows-based systems.
Running a file copy and using the Networking monitor in Windows Task Manager or Vista's Reliability and Performance Monitor (Start > Run perfmon.msc)
Using NetMeter while watching or listening to a stream or transferring files. (There is also a similar program of the same name from Brothersoft.)
Running Iperf or Jperf

 

I completely agree. It might not be absolutely the best but it's far more than a power-user with a NAS and a very fast Internet connection can utilize.
These days top of the range routers (including R7000) are overpriced. King of the hill used to cost you around $100-120, these are pushing $250 and there's no way you can benefit from paying some $100 on top of what you'd pay for R7000.

 

Q: What about when compared to other high end routers such as ASUS RT-AC87U, Linksys EA9200 and Netgear R8000? Isn't the Netgear R7000 usally $100 cheaper then those and can therefore only be considered mid-high end?

 

Was the R8000 available in October? I thought it just came out?

 

There's no such thing as mid-high end, if you ask me. There's high-end and "I have more money than sense" aka "Killer Class".

None of the "Killer Class" routers offers better throughput than R7000. There are two reasons - one is that 4T4R would require 4 antennas on a receiver and you still can't buy a notebook card with three, let alone four.

Second thing is that AC3200 routers introduce a second 5GHz radio. This won't make your throughput or range any better but in theory will be able to service more users at higher speeds (one radio will be sued for slower devices and the other for faster ones). So basically you are paying for 4 streams (even though you almost certainly have a two stream ac card) and for ability to service more users at higher speeds (remember that you still have 2.4GHz band which is typically used for slower devices anyway).

In my opinion there is no point in spending $300 on a router that offers nothing more than R7000.

 

TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 is for sale for $60 on US Amazon atm. Black friday sale?

 

It's a great price but it doesn't state if its V1 or V2.
V1 seems to have been fixed (as far as it can be fixed at least) but it took 11 beta firmwares and while I have one and it works very well I can't be sure that it word equally well with Broadcom based 5GHz radios.

 

Currently using a TP-Link TL-WDR6500 v2. It was only $40 and is 3x3 2.4Ghz and 2x2 5Ghz, which seems a bit unusual. In my apartment there is a ton of 2.4Ghz interference from other routers, so I thought 2.4Ghz was a lost cause. Well, unlike my older router, the TL-WDR6500 cuts right through that and maintains high throughput. This was an amazing surprise, as I have a some 2.4Ghz-only devices. The 5Ghz band doesn't have anyone else on the channels I am using, so that is good. But it does show that the Intel 5300 and 6300 should not be used with 5Ghz. The 7260AC and AR9380 on the other hand are perfect.

 

Also using a TL-WDR3600 and have had a very good impression after ~1 month of usage. I haven't installed aftermarket firmware yet, but so far so good. No problem in a ranch house with the router in the basement.

 

I added TP-Link Archer C20i for those who don't feel like spending at least $100 on a router.
Both Archer C7 and Netgear R7000 stay on the list. I don't see how any of those $300 routers would be worth their price so as of now the recommendation stand.

 

I can see pairing this AC750 TP-Link Archer C20i router with a mini pcie Intel AC-3160HMW or M.2 Intel AC-3160NGW that are limited to 433Mbps on the 5ghz band but not for an Intel AC-7260,AC-7265 or Killer N1525.

I have in the past upgraded my router to the newest Netgear model but I have found no reason presently to upgrade to an AC3200 R8000

 

I would actually argue against the C20i as a cheap recommendation. The 10/100Mbps ports LIMIT heavily the wireless throughput the Mediatek chipset is able to deliver. The gigabit Ethernet port version of the same SoC is the Archer C2, which I believe is a more better option considering the price difference between the 2 products is very small. [looking up on newegg, the difference is about 3 dollars in favor of the C2 right now ]

Now let me detail things more.
At 100 Mbps connection with the ISP, it won't make much difference if you get something that can do 433/450 Mbps on wireless, since you'll never be able to get more than 100 Mbps anyway. Hence, the actual throughput of the C20i falls flat, and any wireless-n router is able to do the same thing. Actually even better because both the C20i and the C2 have only a 1x1 stream on the 5GHz band. If you're using a 300 Mbps wireless-n adapter, you'll only get 150 Mbps connection with the router.

Since I have a Gigabit connection offered by my ISP, I can pretty much test out how far these devices go on wireless bandwidth. The archer C2 seems to hit a limit around 210-220 Mbps actual download/upload speed which translates to about 19 MB/s download speed[downloaded a game from Steam]. The C20i as I have stated above would have ended up giving a little more over half of the C2 actual download speed.

So no, for 3 dollars less[?!], I believe the advantage the C2 offers over the C20i make it a no-brainer
Testing has been conducted using an Intel 7260AC on an Alienware 14 with the latest Intel drivers installed. Your mileage may vary

 

These are good points @Carcozep . That said C20i is definitely not a router for people with very high speed connections and that's why it's 100mbps limit is not much of a limit. I admit I was petrified when I first saw 802.11ac routers with 100mbps switches and WAN ports in them. Tim Higgins of smallnetbuilder was equally surprised so he reached out to manufacturers (I think D-Link was the first company to launch them and they were the ones asked about it). The manufacturer responded saying that according to their research routers are mostly wireless gateways and pretty much no one uses NASes or desktop computers so there was no point using a gigabit switch in entry level hardware.

I have to agree with them - I have 100mbps connection and two NASes and I can't think of anyone else with a similar setup at home. According to speedtest my connection is faster than 88% of connections in the world (and 90% in my country). That's why I don't think 100mbps switch is a handicap for most people - and C20i is a great cheap router for them.

As for the price - you are sort of right here. Archer C2 is better and if it's cheaper it makes no sense to buy C20i. The thing is I'm not from the US and around here C2 is $52 and C20i is $37 at the moment. So Archer C2 is +40% for something most people would never use. That's why it made my list.

Thanks for pointing that out - I think I checked local prices (and C20i is a better deal where I am) and then I checked US price of C20i (and neglected C2 as I assumed there will be the same price difference). I'll update first post with recommendation for Archer C2 - it's definitely a better deal in the US.

 

I have an love it. I was a Kickstarter backer for the Almond+ and have had it since last summer. It works very well as a router and they keep improving the home automation stuff that I want out of it. It has controllers for Zigbee and Z-wave that work very well with everything I've tried to far.
Zigbee - 1x Wink LED Light bulb
Z-wave - 1x Deadbolt, 1x Motion Sensor, 3x Door sensors

Looking to get a z-wave thermostat, motion/temperature sensor, and siren soon.

My goal with the first two is to put the motion temperature sensor on my front porch and use the motion to activate my LED light bulb while using the temperature to get an outside reading and automatically make some changes to the thermostat.

The android app works very well and allows me to turn my lightbulb on/off and lock/unlock my deadbolt as well as see the status of the other sensors.

 

I have the R8000 and can say it is overkill. For normal usage a R7000 is fine up to the point of a lot of multiple devices and streams. I also use a 5TB drive for DLNA and having all of my devices spread across all those streams allows a lot of flexibility. I may have been alright with the R7000 but with 6 computers, 4 Android devices, a TV and streaming BR player, along with visitors hitting my network I am glad I went for the R8000.

 

@downloads

I'm considering buying the R7000, but I've heard of numerous people having unstable units (random shutdowns, dropped wifi). Has anyone had experiences with this?

Edit: Thoughts on the Linksys WRT1900AC

 

Have an R7000 at home (using it now) - no complaints, great range through three floors of a 100+ year-old home.

After seeing how well it did at home, I got two at work to use as AP's to replace the four miserably performing ones everyone kept complaining about.

 

My ASUS RT-N16 has been a good router, but in the last 6 months it has been very unstable, and the speed is not as good as it used to be. I have tried a lot of different firmware (both official and unofficial), but the problem persists, and therefore I think it is time to buy a new one.

I need a stable router with a good range. Is the Archer and R7000 still the best choices?

Kind Regards
Peter

 

R7000 more than Archer C7, but yes. There are far more expensive routers that are slightly better here and there or better under certain specific conditions but overall I'd still recommend R7000. Archer C7 is a good router but it's not as good as good as R7000 but it's more reasonably priced.

Either would be far better than RY-N16 was though.

 

Thank you, downloads.
However, I don't need a lot of the features, - e.g. the USB-connections. I will only use it for wireless and wired connections, but I suppose that the R7000 is still the way to go?

 

Look at the price-tags. If the one on R7000 doesn't bother you, than go for it. I myself bought an Archer C7 though. If you do chose it too - make sure to buy V2 (although I suppose it's the only one available these days anyway)

 

I just got an Archer C7 v2 in a bundle with a cable modem. It's definitely a nice step up from my WNDR3800. I flashed it with OpenWRT and was up in running in about 5 minutes. A very boring experience - full hardware support and a smooth ride is what I get for being late to the game.

 

Hello guys,
Are there new wifi laptop modules released which supports 1300 Mbps network speed yet?

 

Google "On Hub"router in partnership with TP-Link

Now available from the Google Store and online retailers($199.99)
https://store.google.com/product/onhub

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013ALA9LA

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/meet-onhub-new-router-for-new-way-to-wi.html

 

Wow, you're fast! I was literally just about to post this.

 

anybody?

 

On the 5ghz band only = No

 

so why they making routers with such fast network speeds , when we never gonna reach it ?
currently wi-fi module limit is up to 800 Mbps I have intel wifi module up to 830 and I never reach it ..
Max it shows me 530-600 only when I restart wifi on laptp it shows 830 or something like that and in 5 seconds it drops to 500 ?
am asking ; what is the point ?

 

Never say never. Technology rarely ever stands still...

 

exactly i heard about new standard again.. instead of ac will be ax .. but what pisses me off they get started something never support properly these days .. and within few months they will scrap it or replace with next project ..
It's ridiculous

http://www.extremetech.com/computin...eally-need-a-10gbps-connection-to-your-laptop